On Fri, 22 Jun 2001, Debi wrote:
>
> And "we" have women who don't appreciate being viewed as objects or
> toys. I've been thinking about joining, but now I wonder if this
> organization is for me...
>
> And I'll add 11. Remove that offensive web page.
Hey Debi,
Chill! Gabe is no Andrew Dice Clay. While I can't speak for him, I doubt
he meant any offense toward women in any way. I suspect, more like
he was making fun of the widespread porn on the internet, the
widespread use of sexy women to sell anything and everything, the cliche
that computer geek guys don't "get any" and so must resort to satisfying
their sexual desires with photos of women they don't know, etc.
I'm not convinced that sexually-provocative photos of women "objectify"
them anyway. The places in the world that I can think of where women are
most objectified, least respected, abjectly subjugated, etc ... those are
also the same countries where women can't be seen in public without being
completely covered with black gauze, can be beaten for wearing makeup, and
so on. Being desexualized does not earn repect. It's simply another way
for men to wield their power over women.
I strongly suspect that the best way for women to be respected by men is
by earning that respect based on their knowledge, confidence, and
abilities. Join LUGOD, learn more about a really cool operating
system, let men get to know you as a fellow human being, and lose the
condescending "if only you were as feministically-enlightened-as-moi"
attitude, and I'll bet you'll be much more effective at spreading the
message you claim to want to spread.
--Christine
"Open up your eyes, and maybe you'll see ... it's a she-thing"
-Salt N Pepa